


Terror, Mind and Body

by TheExploringElf



Category: Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Genre: Body Horror, Drabble, Gen, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 12:25:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17528678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheExploringElf/pseuds/TheExploringElf
Summary: Ruerin has a nightmare, however the real terror starts after she wakes up and finds that she's no longer alone.





	Terror, Mind and Body

**Author's Note:**

> //not beta-read, might be edited//

_ Ruerin found herself lying on a marble stone slab, like a corpse put on display. She stared with hazy eyes at the darkened sky above her. Black, sinister clouds were swirling towards the red horizon, where the dying sun bathed their bellies in orange light. She felt the touch of a light breeze on her skin, from the goddamn wind that kept blowing even though she left Morrowind a long time ago. Or was that just a dream...? Shivers ran down her spine as she felt the air cool around her; ash began to fall from the sky it was followed by a strong scent, something she only felt once, in an old ruin, near a pit filled with boiling lava... She wanted to scream, call for help but her tongue felt heavy, her lungs were empty. She wanted to jump up and run away but her limbs felt like they were made of stone. The scenery changed and she found herself staring at her own reflection through dark red haze. Ripples ran across the mirror and her face started and shifting and changing until she no longer recognized the person looking back at her. His eyes gleamed with golden hue and he started laughing at the girl. His voice was even more nerve-racking than his gaze or his smile.  _

_ "Lord Nerevar Indoril, Hai Resdaynia! Long forgotten, forged anew! Three belied you, three betrayed you! One you betrayed was three times true!" _

_ Terrified, Ruerin struggled to be able to look away from this mad man. Finally, after a few painfully long seconds, she felt her arms move. _ She lifted her left hand.

_ "Lord Voryn Dagoth, Dagoth Ur, steadfast liegeman, faithful friend, bids you come and climb Red Mountain!" _

Her legs began to tremble and came to life. She kicked into the air, kicking the blanket onto the ground. The hammock creaked under the strain. 

_ "Beneath Red Mountain, once again, break your bonds, shed cursed skin, and purge the n'wah from Morrowind!" _

"Wake up, Ruerin! Wake up!" the shout came from the real world, beckoning her to return into it. Her eyes popped open just in time to witness the horrifying figure leaning above her. It looked like it was a Dunmer - same height, bild and the grey skin implied that - before he was turned into this horrible twisted creature that no one recognize as sentient anymore. She stared into a face devoid of any features; instead of eyes and a nose there was a huge gaping hole on his head, The inside of the skull was empty. 

She screamed and raised her arms to cover her face just in time from the strike that came from the creature. Claws ripped into her skin, tearing into fabric and flesh but it was just a minor wound. Ruerin retaliated by kicking out blindly then quickly, she rolled out of the hammock and dropped onto the ground. Pushing herself up on her elbows and knees, the woman began to crawl towards the stairway that was just a couple of meters ahead. She expected the second blow to hit her any time but it never happened. When she glanced back above her shoulder, she could just witness the moment the creature was hit on the head by a vase. The pottery shattered with a sharp brattle, the creature turned its ugly head and roared at Nine-Toes who backed away quickly from the revolting sight.

"What the devil is THAT?" The Argonian screamed, dismayed by the unholy appearance of the creature that was wreaking havoc in his home. The wood elf used this window of opportunity to roll on her back and cast the first spell of destruction that came to mind.

The creature was hit by an ice bolt, which was immediately followed by another. It did little more than anger the thing, it turned back and started marching towards the elf. Only then did she see the spiked club dangling in his hand, which slowly began to rise. Luckily, by the time it struck again, she managed to gather her strength for a stronger attack. Her hands moved quickly as she weaved magicka together into a huge ball of fire. The spell hit it on the chest before he could deliver the blow. Burnt and broken, the creature let out a faint groan before its legs gave out and he collapsed on the floor.    

Panting and still in a state of shock, Ruerin sat up and looked at the body lying in front of her. The spell she let out left scorch marks all around, including the walls, the furniture, even the ceiling. What a mess. She looked up, past the dead body and locked eyes with the Argonian who still hasn't moved away from the opposite side of the room. After the first shock wore off, Nine-Toes slowly pushed himself away from the wall and stepped closer to the scene. The zombie-like creature intrigued him too but his main concern was the woman at the moment looked like she saw a ghost, not to mention that she was wounded as well.

"Hey. Are you alright?" he asked, kneeling down to look her in the eyes. 

"Yes... It's just a scratch. I'll be fine." she replied trying to sound as reassuring as it could get. The Argonian offered his hand to help the wood elf onto her feet.  

"Sorry about the mess." she muttered as she glanced around in the room. Once again, she had to remind herself that destruction magic and indoors don't go well together. The short battle certainly left its mark, the walls as well as the furniture were adorned with scorch marks from the Fireball spell, courtesy of Estardilin from the Mages Guild. 

"Ah, well. Don't worry about it. It's a good thing you were here, I could not have dealt with this thing by myself."

"Yeah, well... I'm sure anything is just coincidence anymore. Ever since I came back from Vivec, strange things have been happening. Just the night before, I've met this Dunmer on the bridge, outside of your house. He looked like, he was under some sort of spell and the things he talked about made me want to run back all over to Valenwood." 

“Perhaps, it would be better. Morrowind isn't the friendliest of places to live in nowadays.” Nine-Toes replied, giving off a noise that Ruerin could only interpret as snickering. Under different circumstances, she would have found that amusing.

"Anyway-” the Argonian said “better go and tell Caius about this urgently. And about the Dunmer who approached you on the bridge. He may know, how this is all connected. Don't worry about things here, I'll clean up the mess. And while you're at it" he pointed a finger at her arm “Show that wound to a healer, would you?”

Ruerin finally took time to look at her wound and assess the damage. She has had worse injuries than this, but the scratches still hurt like hell. Judging by the creature appearance, there was some weird, dark magic involved; she wondered briefly if that will have any affects on her later, but shooed the thought away immediately. She had enough to deal with so she got to stay focused on solving those and not spiral down into paranoia.  

"I will. Thanks again for letting me stay."

"Don't mention it. Just don't tell anyone else about what happened here; I don't want the Temple guards showing up at my doorstep next."


End file.
